Fresh off a holiday trip to Paris, Jillian Michaels (formerly of “The Doctors” and “The Biggest Loser”) spoke with us about the workouts that everyone will be going to and coming from in 2012.
For men
Survival of the fittest
“I see men doing things like Warrior Dash. They’re into the mud runs. Men are really into that stuff like jumping over the fire and crawling through the mud. Group fitness events are re- ally gaining popularity. And of course, CrossFit … is continuing to really hold on and gain new followers. It’s very cultish, but people really seem to love it. I know that boys love it, and I know a lot of women who love it, but you gotta have a warrior mentality. It’s a very aggressive style of exercise.”
For women
Ballet-inspired workouts
“I’m hearing about all kinds of fusion classes like Spinning with Barre, Beyond the Barre, Barre Method. I really think that’s starting to gain a lot of momentum. I think the promise is flexibility, that you will have a leaner look, that you’ll be more functional. It’s also a very feminine form of exercise in that it makes you more graceful, it improves your posture, and women want that. It’s based on ballet which is the ultimate in very graceful, feminine beauty. We want to be badasses, but at the same time we still want that elegance.”
About that other barre …
“I think people are still big into pole fitness as well, which is a completely different concept — strip dancing to ballet dancing — but I think women are into that as well.”
For everyone
Anything but run-of-the-mill
Punk Rope: “It’s a class around jump-roping. I think it’s really underground, but I believe that that’s gonna emerge as something kind of fun and trendy for a little while. I don’t know about the staying power, but I definitely think it’s gonna make a splash.”
Lessons in butt-kicking (beyond Tae Kwon Do): “I think a lot of people are getting into more obscure martial arts modalities like Krav Maga — or Capoeira, which is Brazilian jujitsu.”
More on Michaels
Her workouts: “I like body-weight types of training like yoga or martial arts.”
What she snacks on: “Popchips is a company that I discovered about three years ago and I fell madly in love with them. There’s no trans fat, no artificial coloring, no artificial flavors, no MSG, nothing bad. It’s a such a great solution for people that don’t want to give up foods that taste good. This is America, you know what I mean? We want our cheeseburgers. We want options that taste great that aren’t rabbit food. Popchips is a great solution.”
